Commercial jet's abrupt course change sparks fear of hijacking
Fuel shortage prompted American Airlines plane to land at Southwest Florida International

Friday, July 19, 2002

By SONJA BJELLAND, [email protected]

Emergency officials feared a possible hijacking attempt Thursday when an American Airlines plane en route to Miami changed course after lightning closed runways there and air traffic controllers received no immediate response from the pilot.

FBI and other officials later learned that the pilot had rerouted Flight 2114 due to a fuel shortage, authorities said. The plane landed safely at 12:25 p.m. at Southwest Florida International Airport.

Susan Sanders, director of aviation marketing for the Lee County Port Authority, said Flight 2114 had been scheduled to land in Miami at about noon after a three-hour flight from Mexico City.

The Federal Aviation Administration's initial concerns prompted FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and local Special Operations Squad officials to converge on Southwest Florida International Airport, and to secure the area after the plane landed. FBI agents then boarded the plane and talked to the pilot and passengers to check their safety and to reconfirm the fuel stop.

Weather problems during the flight and in Miami led to some of the issues that caused the change in destination, said Martha Pantin, spokeswoman for American Airlines' Miami office. Miami runways were closed due to lightning, causing pilots to circle the area while awaiting authorization to land.

At the same time as the American Airlines plane was rerouted to Fort Myers, two other planes in the Miami area had declared emergencies.

One plane preparing to land had a flap jam while another took off and had a sufficient enough problem that it had to return to the airport. Those uncertainties mixed with the fuel problem had officials on edge, she said.

"It's just because all these had problems at the same time," Pantin said.

FBI Special Agent Sara Oates said they investigate all incidents of possible hijackings or situations involving the flight crew.

"Obviously after the Sept. 11 incidents we have more awareness of incidents with planes and airports," Oates said. "We responded to the incident and determined there was no violation of federal law, it was just an emergency fuel stop."

The plane eventually departed for Miami at 2:05 p.m. and landed about an hour later. A flight from Miami to Connecticut set to leave at 1:30 p.m. had to be canceled.